ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT — GERSHENFELD 223 



municipal or township ordinances, county or State laws or acts, or 

 other legislative statutes. Usually the health departments and oc- 

 casionally other executive branches are responsible for the enforce- 

 ment of these regulations. In many instances such regulations are 

 nonexistent. In others, the existing laws are inadequate to meet mod- 

 ern conditions or are impractical of enforcement. Frequently we find 

 that there is no attempt made to enforce adequate legislation. What 

 is even as impoitant is the fact that there is comparatively little uni- 

 formity in the methods advocated for cleansing and sterilizing drink- 

 ing and eating utensils. There is a great diversity of recommended 

 practices which should be corrected. In the use of hot water and 

 chemicals for the sterilization of glassware and other eating utensils 

 many problems are encountered especially when operating on a small 

 scale. The maintenance of the proper and effective sterilizing tem- 

 peratures, the use of chemical solutions which can be kept at adequate 

 strength, the elimination of discomfort to operators in working with 

 chemicals or with hot solutions, the elimination of odors and steam, 

 and the reduction of breakage are some of the features to be considered 

 in any practical process. The use of ultraviolet light may help to solve 

 this problem and the introduction of suitable equipment low in cost will 

 undoubtedly provide a satisfactory means of seeing that all eating 

 utensils will be kept up to proper sanitary requirements. 



As a direct development of the scientifically proved value of 

 selected rays of ultraviolet light, eating and drinking utensils after 

 proper cleansing and drying are being sanitized with this outstand- 

 ing scientific discovery. The effectiveness of the rays for this pur- 

 pose is dependent on their proper application. Glasses, knives, forks, 

 spoons, and other equipment to be sanitized must be treated in such a 

 maimer that all surfaces (inside and outside) are exposed, directly 

 or by direct reflection, to 2537 Angstrom unit rays for a sufficient 

 period of time and at as short a distance from the source of the rays 

 as physical limitations will allow. Properly applied, the time re- 

 quired is but a few minutes to be assured tliat all disease-producing 

 bacteria have been killed. In this period of time, practically all 

 disease-producing bacteria and more than 99 percent of the total 

 number of bacteria present, are destroyed. An additional valuable 

 feature is that irradiation can be and is employed to maintain the 

 sanitary condition of the utensils until required for use. You have 

 seen glasses, dishes, knives, forks, spoons, and other eating utensils, 

 after cleansing, being stored on shelves or in compartments or cab- 

 inets. During such ordinary storage the equipment is not protected 

 generally from air-borne infection or from contact with dust, flies, 

 and other possible means of contamination, especially after being 

 handled by waiters and others who in picking up one or more uten- 

 sils, frequently touch others. Ultraviolet light, an efficient dry 



